Family fun calendar

Free theater campShowdown Performing Arts Theater Camp will offer a full week of theater classes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 4-8 at the Sierra Vista Branch of the Santa Clarita Valley Boys and Girls Club on the campus of Sierra Vista Junior High School, 19425 Stillmore, Canyon Country. Free to members of the SCV Boys and Girls Club ages 12-18. Membership in the club is $24 a year. At the end of the camp there will be a performance of "A Voice of Our Own," written by teens. To sign up for the club or for information on the theater camp call (661) 251-6017. For information about Showdown Performing Arts call (661) 799-0758

Roshambo tournamentBe a part of an event like no other! Join hundreds of people in the largest Roshambo (Rock, Paper, and Scissors) Tournament ever held in the Santa Clarita Valley to benefit the youth programs of the SCV Family YMCA 5 p.m. Saturday, July 19. Santa Clarita Activities Center (behind Home Depot, off Golden Valley Road and Centre Pointe Parkway) For information: (661) 253-359 Prizes, food. Dress up for this wacky event. For more information, visit www.theroshambo.com or call (661) 253-3593.

Early morning bird hike It's that magical time of year when birds make Towsley Canyon home. Early morning bird hike from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday at Ed Davis Park in Towsley Canyon. Beginners are welcome. Meet at the entrance to the park, 24255 The Old Road, Newhall. For more information visit www.lamountains.comor call (310) 858-7272 ext. 115. Program sponsored by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and presented by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.

Saxtravaganza 2008Free all-saxophone band concert, 7 p.m. Sunday at William S. Hart Auditorium, 24825 Newhall Ave., Newhall. A variety of musical styles will be featured during the ninth annual program, including the Pachelbel Canon and Gigue, Beethoven's Rondino and two short works by Bach. For those who love the more dramatic works, Rossini's Overture from "William Tell" and the beautiful "Agnus Dei" from Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suite no. 2 will be presented. Fresh arrangements portraying the foot-stomping styles of American ragtime, Kentucky bluegrass, and well-known movie theme music.

History of Native Americans in SCVThe Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and College of the Canyons will jointly host a talk by one of the leading experts on the Native Americans of Southern California. John Johnson, curator of Anthropology at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, will speak on the history of the Native Americans of the SCV 2 p.m. at Mentry Hall, room 318 on the College of the Canyons campus in Valencia. For a map of the campus, go to www.canyons.edu/offices/PIO/keyinfo/CampusMap.asp. The general public is welcome. Admission will be free. For more information on this and other upcoming programs from the SCVHS, call Pat Saletore or Alan Pollack at (661) 254-1275. Website: www.scvhs.org.

R.E.A.D. to a dog The dogs are at Valencia Library, 23743 West Valencia Blvd., Valencia on the second Saturday of each month (Aug. 9, Sept. 13, Oct. 11, Nov. 8, Dec. 13) from 1 to 3 p.m. Each child will be given 15 minutes to read with and meet a Paws 4 Healing dog. Availability is first come, first served to children in grades K-8. For information, contact the Valencia Library, Evangelina Ferrer (661) 259-8942.

All aboard for fun and educationTeachers can provide their pre-school and elementary classes with a historical and fun educational experience when they climb onboard the Fillmore & Western Railway Co. School Field Trip trains. The vintage trains depart at 10 a.m. on selected weekdays throughout the year and travel to the Fillmore Fish Hatchery, where trout are raised to be distributed throughout western streams and lakes. Not only do the students and teachers learn about what the Fish & Game Department's job is, but they also learn about the history of railroading and safety around trains and tracks. In October every year, the school field trip aboard the train is longer in duration and travels to "Ichabog", a private pumpkin patch out in the middle of an orange grove, nestled in the fertile Heritage Valley region of eastern Ventura County. In addition to learning facts about railroad history, students and teachers are taught about harvesting pumpkins and how they also fit into our country's Halloween heritage. Students Ride on railcars built during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, and travel along an historical rail line, originally built in the 1880s. For information on a unique school field trip, call Fillmore & Western Railway Co. at (805) 524-2546, or take a trip to the Web site at www.fwry.com.